Counting Constellations
by Six Feet Beneath The Stars
Summary: They loved to watch the stars together, staying up all night and painting pictures in the sky . But then it all changed... What happens when Gabriella moves away to New York, where the stars aren't so clear? T
1. Introduction

**NOTE: **Here's an old story of ours.

_"I hate the stars because I look at the same ones as you do, without you."  
_Counting Constellations

Introduction

---------------------

Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez were odd.

The both of them were oddly in love.

It was as if the two of them spoke some language that didn't even exist to the others. Many of them didn't understand Troy and Gabriella. But they, however, thought that those who didn't understand them didn't know how it was to be in love. And so when word got out at East High that the two of them began to date, it was, as expected, pure havoc. Good thing that Troy and Gabriella were the odd ones, for they had managed to get past the havoc that was sent forth from the school, and had just managed to find pleasure in each other.

Gabriella Montez had little blue envelopes in her locker every Friday morning.

It was another thing that people found odd, for very few knew what those little blue envelopes contained. People who were, needless to say, not very fond of the relationship, had just guessed it was some stupid love note. Well, they weren't wrong, in fact, they were somewhat right. Each one of the envelopes contained some of man's famous quotes about this strange little thing called love. All of what Gabriella was familiar with. Yet, it seemed odd that Troy would know of it himself. Little did they know that their star captain Troy Bolton had a romantic side within himself.

Actually, even his best friends didn't know he had it within himself. Troy Bolton himself didn't know he had it in himself. As far as Troy knew, it wasn't a side of him he had known about until Gabriella brought it out. Troy Bolton also wasn't corny…until the new girl had come to East High. From then on he was chewing on corn every possible moment of his life.

Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez had special remnants of each other within their rooms. The very special of them were penguins.

Gabriella had a somewhat fat stuffed penguin. It had an orange beak, orange flipper feet, blue oval-shaped eyes, and a few shaggy light brown strings at the top for the hair rather than it being bald. The penguin had worn a red-suit with 'Wildcat' printed in black bold Comic Sans typing.

Troy also had a penguin. This one was smaller and not as chubby as the one Gabriella had. It had a yellow beak, yellow flipper feet, big bug-eyed almond colored eyes, and long wavy strings of dark brown for the hair. This female penguin had a cute sundress with the word, 'Smarty' printed on it with bold Verdana typing.

To Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez, these penguins were the most treasured and meant the world to them, as did their relationship.

To Chad Danforth, the stuffed animals were nothing more than demented and weird-looking hairy penguins that looked like they were on crack. His idea of a remembrance gift was one of his many basketball black-and-white photos where he was making a half court shot. Chad Danforth just didn't understand.

Troy and Gabriella's myspace names were odd. Their headlines also consisted of many quotes that normal students of their age, just didn't comprehend to; only they did, and that was enough. And every single one reminded them of each other.

They both had each other on the top of their friends lists. Troy had Gabriella's as his top (this annoyed Chad to the millionth degree) and Gabriella had Troy as her top. Although their layouts were very different, Gabriella's being powder blue with tiny butterflies circling the top, and Troy's being red and white WILDCATS ROCK on the bottom, they both had one thing in common, one icon. Stars.

Chad Danforth didn't see why this was necessary. He, like many of the students at East High, just didn't understand.

But Troy and Gabriella did. And it was their thing.

The two rarely fought; it was actually some Disney fairytale romance. Of course, many people who realize that life just cannot have a fairytale ending recognized this. Many made bets on the two: on when the two would split or have a huge blowout fight.

But they never did.

They never did.

Sure, the two quarreled there and then, but usually they would laugh it off and Troy would give Gabriella a kiss on the cheek and all was well again. But the two never had a huge fight, aside from the brief breakup at Lava Springs.

But Lava Spring was past them.

Way, way, past them.

It was just…simply in the past and something that if it was brought up, it would quickly be shot down and laughed upon as how silly the two teens (and now seniors) were being.

Aside from that, the two were picture perfect, alpha teens, the perfect couple, the envy of all the cheerleaders and science nerds, absolutely in love, and they just didn't care what others thought of them.

And that worked for them.

One of Troy Bolton's favorite quotes is from William Blake, and is often highly misunderstood. (He had of course been browsing through Gabriella's mini-library in her room and had actually read some of the books.) His friends don't get it, classmates don't understand, even some teachers seem to be befuddled by it, but Troy Bolton knows. Troy Bolton knows what it means:

"To see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wildflower... hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour..."

One of Gabriella Montez's favorite quotation from Charles Caleb Colton has always been (and still is), "True friendship is like sound health, the value of it is seldom known until it be lost."

One of Chad Danforth's favorite quotes was by the beloved basketball player Shaquille O'Neal, "I can't really remember the names of the clubs that we went to," He said when asked if he had gone to see the Parthenon in Greece.

When he told that to Troy and Gabriella, they didn't laugh. Chad had learned that day that quotes were serious business for the two of them. He had shrugged it off as another mysterious aspect about their relationship that he did not understand.


	2. Closer

**Time Stops Breathing**

Gabriella swung open the door to her locker. It was 2:00 P.M. on Friday, the exact date and time that she got a little blue envelope from Troy every week. Sure enough, when she opened the door, a tiny blue fold came tumbling down from the upper shelf. She quickly slid her books into the locker and picked up the envelope. She eagerly tore it open and read what was inside:

_True love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights. _

_If you hear bells, get your ears checked._

_-Erich Segal_

Gabriella smiled and quickly stuffed the letter into her new blue and black messenger bag. It was covered with little buttons in assorted colors that read "FOB" or "PARAMORE". She smiled as she ran a hand over the most familiar button. It was small and silver with a star engraved into it. Unlike the other ones, this button did not have a band name. It simply had a small rhinestone in the center and a few words: "Come and count the stars with me, don't leave me 'till we count 'em all, I want to stay with you." Troy and Gabriella staked out a spot in his spacious backyard every Saturday night and would try to count the stars. They would eat barbeque chips and drink blue raspberry smoothies from humongous cups they got from the gas station down the street. He had given her that button the first time they kissed - under the stars in his backyard.

_RING! RING! RING!_

The dismissal bell shattered her precious moment as she quickly threw her notebooks, pencil case, cell phone, and text books into her bag and scuttled out the front doors, letting the blazing sun sting her eyes. She didn't care that it was unusually sunny in Albuquerque in the wintertime; all she cared about was being with Troy the next day.

She heard a loud honk coming from behind her. Turning around, she saw Troy in his brand new Mitsubishi Lancer-Evolution X GSR.

"Hey you! Girl with the pretty smile! I'm trying to move here. Gotta pick up my girl! Have you seen her? Really pretty, long brown hair, big brown eyes, flawless skin, carries these blue envelopes in her pockets?" He laughed as he unlocked the doors, letting her get inside the car.

"Hey, Wildcat!" She gave him a quick kiss, then slid further back in her seat and buckled up.

As Troy began to pull out from the East High parking lot, Gabriella's mind started to wander.

She had always wondered why Troy picked her up after school. She only lived twenty minutes away walking and ten minutes by bus. Maybe he felt like he was protecting her by driving her to her house, or maybe it was just for the free baked goods that Gabriella's mom, Maria, would send him home with.

"My mom's baking again today." She informed him as she pulled out her Chap Stick and began rubbing it on her lips while looking at the rearview mirror.

"Oh yeah? What is it today? On Wednesday it was muffins. Thursday it was cookies, today it's…"

"Pound Cake." Gabriella slipped the small tube back into her bag.

"Sweet! My favorite!"

"Troy, you say everything is your favorite…" She reminded him.

"'Cause everything tastes so good when your mom makes it!"

Gabriella laughed as he rounded the corner onto her street and made his way toward her square patch of fuzzy green lawn. Troy had glanced at her driveway, seeing a rather unfamiliar car parked in the driveway. He furrowed his eyebrows confusedly, as he tried to think of a reason why it would be there.

"Hey…uh, were you expecting company?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, continuing to stare at the driveway.

"No? What do you mean?"

"There's another car parked in your driveway…"

Sure enough, directly behind her mothers red Toyota was a silver Mercedes with the license plate ROBERTO M on it.

Gabriella gulped hard. She had only known one Roberto in her lifetime. He was tall with short brown hair and piercing green eyes. He had moved away when she was five and never returned.

Roberto M. was Gabriella's father.

And Roberto was _certainly _the last person Gabriella wanted to see at the moment.

---

Gabriella stepped up to her doorstep and nervously pretended to be trying to find the correct key on her key ring, which-stupidly-only had three keys on it. Troy had decided it was best if he came in, hoping to keep her safe from this 'unknown stranger'.

Before Gabriella could slid the key into the lock, Maria opened the door.

Without even a slight smile she said, "Someone is waiting for you in the living room."

Troy grabbed Gabriella's clammy hand and gave her a small smile, hoping to reassure her that everything would be okay as they went through the archway into her small living room. There was a man on the couch, dressed in an elegant gray business suit and a green tie.

"Hey there angel," The man named Roberto stood up and held out his arms for a hug, but Gabriella didn't move. She just blinked and stared at him; she barely knew this man sitting in the living room and he had just come in acting as if they saw each other everyday.

"Troy…T-this is…this is my father, Roberto Montez…" Gabriella stared down at her shoes as Troy glared at Roberto; something about the man just didn't seem right to him. If Gabriella seemed to act odd around him, then Troy was sure to not like this man either. Roberto Montez stuck out his hand politely.

"Hello. Roberto Montez. Robby. Gabriella's father. Successful stockholder in New York. I happen to work on the 55th floor of the Empire State Building," He said, as if outlining the highlights of his life, not even taking the time to complete his sentences. Troy just politely shook his hand and awkwardly stood next to Gabriella, vowing to stand by her no matter what.

Gabriella looked up at him, searching his eyes for an answer, "What—What are you doing here?"

Roberto took out his cell phone, "Hold on a second," He said, before going towards the door and making a call. Gabriella just sighed and rolled her eyes after him. Troy could feel anger rushing through him at how rude the man was.

After a few minutes, Roberto finished up his call and spoke in a softer voice, "I'll be back! I love you, too, sweetheart. I'll be back for your recital! Take care!" His voice had been washed out of any remote Spanish accent and his voice was way too sugary.

Gabriella swallowed her spit; she did not need to be told twice that her dad probably found a new and better family in New York to replace her and her mom. Troy had took her hand in his and began rubbing it in comfort.

"Ahem," Roberto had said, finishing up his call and putting it into his pocket, "Gabriella…"

"What? What do you want?" She snapped, her voice rising with anger and impatience.

Roberto remained firm and said, "I have a proposition for you,_ mija,_"

Gabriella shook her head stubbornly, "Well, _I_ don't want to hear it!"

Roberto sighed depply, taking out his vibrating cell phone once again, "Gabriella don't be like that," He said, answering his phone. His gruff voice became soft once again as he talked to the person on the other line, "Hello sweetie! Yes, daddy is in LA right now…"

Gabriella stood there in disbelief that her father would even _lie _about this. What did he want anyway?

"No, I love _you _more!" He cooed into the phone. With every word that came out of his body, Gabriella began to feel pain in her flesh. She had never gotten to experience having a dad; she didn't know what it was like to have a dad who cared. But, apparently, Roberto had already been a father to someone, and it was certainly _not _Gabriella.

Roberto said his goodbye and clicked his phone closed once again. He turned to Gabriella, speaking with his stern voice once again, "_Mija_, do not disrespect me like that!"

"Don't _call _me that!" Gabriella shrieked, getting angrier and annoyed with the second.

"Ángel? What's the matter? You don't speak Spanish anymore?" He adjusted his tie and took a seat across from the couch in one of their fluffy armchairs.

"I don't speak to _you_ anymore…" Gabriella mumbled as she took a seat on the couch.

Roberto gave a dry laugh. "Very funny, Gabi…"

"Don't…don't call me that…" She rubbed her shoe up and down the carpeting. Troy and her mother were the only ones who got away with that nickname. Everyone else would call her either Gabs or Gabriella. Besides, everyone in school knew Troy Bolton would have to hunt down any guy who had tried to use his nickname for her.

"Gabriella…" Roberto's smile faded. "I'm really sorry I wasn't here for you…I-I'm sorry I couldn't do the things that papá's are supposed to do with their children. I-I was going through some changes. You have to understand…my job as a stock broker went big and they made me move out to New York. Maria…mamá…didn't want you to go because she wanted to raise you in familiar surroundings…"

"Familiar surroundings? I've moved every summer for the past nine years. Do you call that _familiar_, Roberto?" She stood up. "Tell me the real story."

"Do NOT address me by my first name, Gabriella Anne Montez!"

"Fine, then tell me the real story, _daaaaaad_." She sat back down and felt Troy place his hand on her knee.

"I-I did go out there for business…but then I liked it. After a year when I didn't come back…I stopped calling you guys. I sent you money for your birthday and holidays, though. I didn't _forget_ about you, Gabriella."

"Yeah…well-if you loved me _so much_, then why'd you start a new family-one where you don't even speak Spanish?"

"Well…" Roberto took a breath and nestled into the chair. "After the second year of being in New York, Maria… mamá…called. She told me that she couldn't keep up the act that her marriage wasn't strained. She couldn't deal with the long distance matrimonio. Mamá asked me for a divorce and sadly…I was happy to oblige. See, about five months prior to call, I met this _amazing_ woman named Tiffany-Claire-but she only liked to be called Tiffany-and I fell for her. She was so beautiful and her eyes were piercing and-"

"Spare us the details, Sir." Troy spat as Gabriella leaned into his shoulder, resting the side of her head in the familiar crook of his neck.

"Oh, sorry Gabriella's friend…"

"Troy…" She mumbled, barely loud enough for anyone to hear.

"Anyway…" Roberto continued, flipping open his cell phone. "This is Tiff…" After clicking a few buttons, Roberto shoved the phone into Gabriella's sweaty palm.

The picture was of a skinny girl who could only be in her early twenties. She was wearing a super low-cut silver mini dress that appeared to be a D&G original. It shimmered against her pin-straight platinum blonde hair, which tipped off just below her ribcage, and her piercing electric blue eyes. Her hands looked heavy, as they were clad with tons of silver rings, two gold rings on her ring finger. Tiffany was wearing silver stilletos with little diamonds scattered across the top. She was gorgeous. This is exactly what Gabriella _didn't_ want.

"She looks really young…this must be an old photo…" Troy commented as he gazed at Tiffany's ample amount of cleavage.

"Uh…no... what's your name again? This was taken two weeks after we got married…"

An awkward silence covered the room like a blanket.

"Like I was saying…"Roberto's voice cut across the room, making Gabriella jump. He quickly took the phone from her hand. "She was my love at first sight. I didn't know what to do. I knew I couldn't get married, because I still was married to your mamá, but I also couldn't abandon my relationship with Tiffany-Claire. So, I did everything I could while working my way around the divorce. We went house shopping, we bought all new furniture, she got a whole new wardrobe, and then she moved in with me. After mama finally signed the divorce papers, Tiff and I got married. It was big…_flores_, cake, a wonderful reception…the whole bit. The only thing that was missing was you…"

"You sure replaced us pretty fast…you know, the kid and all…"

"_Mija_, I wasn't trying to replacing you when Libby Belle was born. You have to remember that it wasn't just _my_ decision to have _coito_…"

The backs of Gabriella's yes stung when she heard _coito_- otherwise know as intercourse.

"I would never replace you…I couldn't forget about you, _mija_. I _love_ y-"

"Stop it…" Gabriella raised her hand and closed her eyes. How could this man just waltz back into her life after all these years as if nothing had happened-as if it were just an ordinary thing for a father to show up after running off to start a new family?

"¿Por qué? I _love_ y-"

"Some way of showing that!" She shrieked once again, standing up. Troy stood up along with her; he had never heard Gabriella get this upset before, "You go out for your _stupid _business and forget all about mom and me! You don't call! You _never _called! Do you know how many days I'd stay up all night on my birthday, hoping to get some call from you, hoping that you—that you still knew who I was! But I _never _got a call! I spent every birthday since I was five up in my room CRYING! And when you got lonely for a family you just went and got a new one. So don't lie to me, _dad_. Roberto, whatever! I don't care who you are or who you were, 'cause you mean NOTHING to me now!" She had finished off, stomping out of the living room, without saying a word. Troy had gotten up, and followed her worriedly.

"Troy and I should get going. We don't want to miss our appointment…" Gabriella stood up, wiped a tear from her cheek, and grabbed her sweater-which she had taken off-and headed out the door without so much as a goodbye.

"Gabriella, sweetheart, where are you going?" Maria called from the kitchen as she heard Gabriella walk toward the door.

"Out."

Before Maria could question her further, she had jumped into Troy's car and they were pulling out of the driveway.

-----

After a few minutes of driving by a local street, Gabriella burst into a fit of hysterical tears. Troy quickly parked the car under a shady tree, put the rear in stop, and wrapped his arms around her, letting her cry onto his shoulder, "Shh, Gabi, it'll be okay."

She continued to sob in his shoulder, before looking up at him, with salty tears running down her cheeks, "Wh-what does he want?" She sniffed, "Why is—why's he here?"

Troy pulled her into a long hug, closing his eyes, "I don't know. I guess we'll have to wait and find out," He said calmly, holding her in the same position for a couple of minutes before kissing her deeply, tasting the tears that still lingered on her lips.

Finally, when they pulled away, Troy asked, "Will you be okay?"

Gabriella, nodded, sniffing, "Yeah, I will. Let's just…go somewhere. Turn left onto the next street," She said, confusing Troy a bit, but he did as he was told.

"Where are we going?" Troy asked her.

"You'll see…now turn right at the next light." She slipped off her elastic scrunchie, letting her hair hang loose around her sweater-clad shoulders.

-----

Three hours later, they stood a top a hill over looking a large crystal-clear lake. The sky was dark now, the constellations serving as their only lights.

She pulled two blankets out of his trunk and laid them down side by side.

"I was thinking..." She began as she lied down on one of the fluffy beach towels. "maybe we could stay here for the night…"

"Seriously?" Troy sat down on the empty blanket and looked down at the lake. It reminded him of one of his favorite quotes:

_"A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. _

_It is Earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measure the depth of his own nature."_  
_-Henry David Thoreau_

Troy loved water. Swimming was his second favorite sport. In sixth grade, he had learned how to ice skate just to be on the frozen-over pond. His favorite summertime game was a Water Balloon Fight. If Troy had the chance, he would move somewhere closer to the ocean and live by the water.

"Seriously…" She replied.

"Well…" He dawdled. "I'm not convinced…"

"Does _this_ help?" Gabriella leaned into Troy's body and kissed him. As the kiss became more heated, Troy raised his eyebrows and let her push him further down into his blanket. She let her fingers roll under his shirt and graze his perfectly-toned abs.. After about a minute, Gabriella came up for breath.

"Well, I'm definitely convinced…" He winked as she kissed his jaw before running to his open trunk and pulling out a thick wool blanket.

_Midnight in the valley  
Sprawled out with stars around me  
Shot down from our sky charade  
So long what we once were  
Strung out and full of fire  
If we could only see us now_

When she returned, he was lying down, staring up at the stars.

"There's Orion's Belt…" She whispered, pointing to three bright stars lined up in a row. "And there is the North Star…"

He pulled the blanket over them and wrapped his hands around her waist. "Come and count the stars with me, don't leave me 'till we count 'em all-"

"I want to stay with you," She finished, letting him give her a kiss on the forehead.

That was another thing Chad didn't understand: Finishing each others sentences. The only time Chad finished Taylor's sentences was when it had to do with making love. Gabriella couldn't understand why Taylor stayed with him. _Oh well…_ She thought, refocusing on the stars shining brightly in front of them.

_Give in, give up, and soak into the airwaves  
Get up, get in, and bring yourself to me  
Breathe in, breathe out, fingertips and heartbeats  
Are all we need_

One of the main reasons Gabriella loved Albuquerque was the crystal-clear skies where you could see almost all of the stars visible at night. It was completely amazing; and it was why Gabriella loved this city; it was so different from others. Back when she moved around, she had lived in other cities, and in all of them, they were covered with pollution and the skies were mostly hazy at night; you could usually see only two or three, or if you're lucky, four stars. But in Albuquerque, you could seem them all.

"How many?" Troy finally said, after about ten minutes of staring up at the sky; they would always do this, lie around in her backyard on warm nights and watch the stars and then guess how many there are.

"Millions," She answered, shifting her head towards Troy's, so she could rest it near his shoulder while they watched.

Troy smiled, "Billions."

Gabriella grinned, "Trillions," She said softly.

They both looked at each other and said simultaneously, "Infinite."

They continued to lie down on the blanket in silence. They both stared at the night sky, whilst Troy played with a lock of Gabriella's hair. After some more minutes, Troy finally spoke up, "Hey Gabi?"

"Yes?" She said softly.

"Have you ever wanted a star named after you?" He asked, smiling; it was a somewhat random question, but totally related to what was going on.

"Like in 'Walk to Remember'?" She said, laughing a little.

Troy's face turned serious, "Somewhat. Hold on, let me show you," He said, sitting up and getting up to go towards the trunk of a car.

Gabriella's mouth hung open a bit, as she got up as well, "Troy, please tell me you didn't—"

Troy smiled, taking out a plastic bag. He grabbed it, closed his trunk, and went towards the blanket to sit next to Gabriella once again. He took three frames out of it proudly, and showed it to Gabriella. She just stared in awe as she examined them.

"I was searching Google the other night, you know, about stars," Troy said, smiling, " 'Cuz, it's always been our thing and all. Anyway…I saw this website where you can get a star registry…"

Gabriella's eyes began to fill up with tears as she saw it, "Three stars?"

Troy nodded, wiping away a stray tear that softly fell down her cheek, "I got it done early this month. And I was waiting for the perfect moment to show you it. And, uh, yeah. I got three stars in close distance to one another. The one on the left is Troy…"

Gabriella rolled her eyes at the fact that he could sometimes sound so conceited.

"The one on the right is yours…Gabriella. And the small one in the center is—"

"Troyella—"She finished for him, smiling at the silly name.

Troy's face slowly turned pink, and then he shrugged, "Hey, I needed something with our names combined."

Gabriella laughed a bit, looking down at the three certificates confirming it, "So, it's…for real? We actually have a star?"

Troy smiled, and wrapped his right arm around her, "We have a star," He said, kissing her forehead softly, "Our star will remain forever shining brightly in the heavens just like our love."

Gabriella rolled her eyes again-this time at the corny statement, but laughed along, "I wonder which one is ours…"

Troy smiled, planning on surprising her with the telescope in his trunk later, "Hmm, I wonder…"

Gabriella turned to him, smiling, "Can you give me a hint?" She said, weakly.

Troy just laughed and shook his head no. "That's up to you to figure out," He winked at her playfully.

"Maybe I'll just ask Tom from TAAS about it," She giggled. "He's probably a big enough nerd to locate it."

Troy smiled, "TAAS for life…" He said, making Gabriella laugh. This, once again, was very odd when people heard it. Chad Danforth thought it stood for some Basketball association, when it really stood for The Albuquerque Astronomical Society. It was no surprise that the two were members of it.

"We can't be actual members until we're eighteen, Troy," She said, rolling her eyes, "We're junior un-official members. They probably just made it up when _you_ asked to join out of pity… You dork," She teased him good-naturedly.

Troy rolled his eyes, laughing as he shrugged, "Hey, at least I'm _your _dork. And my dad's friend Dee invited me to the Banquet Ball. He was nominated for President. He might get the spot."

Gabriella raised an eyebrow curiously, "So, you're going?"

Troy put his hands under his head and lied back down on the blanket, "Depends. Will you come with me?"

Gabriella smiled and nodded her head, "Sure, I'll come."

"Good…" He felt her hands slip around her waist, pulling her in closer to him. Troy looked toward her and smiled. She returned the gesture by kissing him lightly on the cheek.

"I don't know…Troy. I just…don't know…"

Troy knew who she was talking about and sighed. "Gabi…" He started. Gabriella smiled at the sound of hearing her cherished nickname in its proper voice. "Please don't fuss about him tonight. You took me here to relax…remember? I just want to enjoy this while we have the chance. I mean…my mom's probably flipping out that I'm not home…" Troy laughed as he pictured his well groomed mother prancing around the house in her satin house shoes and calling out his name.

Gabriella giggled. "Do you want to let her know where you are?"

"Nope…" He let her nestle into the side of his neck. "I think she'll figure it out…" Troy closed his eyes.

"I love you, Troy…" She whispered.

He smiled as they both drifted off to sleep.

_Time stops breathing for a moment  
If right here, right now, is all we've got  
We'd better make it last  
So take me and make me  
A part of you apart from you tonight_


	3. Big City Dreams

**Big City Dreams**

Troy pulled into Gabriella's empty driveway and gave a sigh of relief. "I thought he might still be here…"

"Thank goodness he's not!" Gabriella laughed as she unbuckled her seatbelt and unlatched the car door, bursting into the warm, fresh, Albuquerque-winter air. She grabbed her shoes from the back seat and quickly slipped them on.

"Hey, is anybody here?" Troy asked as he began to walk up to the door.

"I think the car is in the garage…" Gabriella flicked her wrist and slid the key into the lock. She pushed the heavy oak door aside and walked in, Troy close behind.

They heard the clack of shoes going across a tile floor and looked toward the dining area. Sitting in one of Maria's mismatched dining chairs was-who else?-Roberto.

He was in a pair of dark brown slacks, accompanied by a crisp white dress shirt, a burnt orange tie, dark loafers, and a diamond encrusted Tiffany&Co .- how ironic? - wristwatch.

Roberto dropped his fork onto the top of his scarce stack of pancakes when he saw her.

"Hola, mija!" He stood up.

Troy took a step closer to Gabriella. "Hello, Mr. Montez…"

"Um…hello…Roy, is it?" Robby asked the question but obviously didn't care about the answer, because he quickly took a few steps closer to Gabriella, arms outstretched.

"Where's mom?" She said, not bothering to bring her gaze up from the floor.

"Um…she went out to run some errands…"

"Or to run away from you…" Gabriella mumbled as she made her way into the kitchen and took out a skillet and the half-full eggs carton. Troy followed.

"Mija, I made pancakes already…" Robby pointed to the large stack of buttery pancakes sitting on a plate on the island counter.

"No thanks…" She muttered as she cracked an egg and watched it sizzle down onto the pan. "I hate pancakes…you would know that if you were here…"

Roberto just sighed and went to pick up his plate of unfinished pancakes.

"Why are you here, anyway?" Gabriella said as Troy pulled out two plates from the cabinet.

"Mamá let me stay the night. She said that you might be a little calmer after a good breakfast."

"Well she was wrong…" Gabriella cracked another egg.

"D-do you want me to leave, Gabi?" Troy whispered, rubbing her lower back slowly.

"No," She whispered to him, her voice pleading. "Stay for breakfast…"

Troy pulled a spatula out from one of the drawers and handed it to Gabriella, who in turn, began to cut up the eggy-mush into tiny pieces, before scooping them up and dropping them onto the plates. Troy took his plate and sat down at the table, Gabriella followed.

Roberto sat down across from the couple. "I need to talk to you, mija…"

"Then talk, because as soon as Mom gets home…you're out of here."

"Sí, mija. But…I can't tell you while your friend is here…"

"Fine…I'm out…" Troy stood up. "Gabs…I'll be at Chad's if you need me…" He gently kissed her forehead and grabbed his plate of eggs. "You'll be fine…"

"Bye, T…" She cooed as he walked slowly out the dining room and through the door. She heard his car door slam, then heard the engine flare as he drove off.

"Now…what do you want to tell me?" She asked as he stared down the doorway.

"Since when do you have a boyfriend?" Robert asked, frowning to himself.

"What makes you so sure he's my boyfriend?" Gabriella challenged him, letting her elbows rest on the table.

Robert shot her a dubious glance. Gabriella sighed heavily.

"Whatever. What is it that you _really _wanted to ask me?"

Roberto let out a small yawn before putting his elbows on the table, facing Gabriella. He half-smiled before saying, "I have a proposal…"

"No thanks," Gabriella said automatically, taking a bite of her eggs.

Roberto narrowed his eyes, "You didn't even hear it yet, mija!"

"Yeah, well, I don't think I'll be too interested in it no matter what it is," Gabriella remarked bitterly, stabbing at the plate full of eggs, angrily.

"Ouch…"Roberto sighed, putting his two hands around his wrinkled forehead, "Gabriella, mija, you are not making this easy for me. Hasn't your mamá trained you well?"

Gabriella dropped her fork before looking up from her plate toward Roberto. She let her mouth hang open for awhile before saying incredulously, "Trained? What am I to you? Some dog!?"

Roberto remained gruff, "Do not use that tone with me!"

"I don't care!" Gabriella screamed out, getting out of her seat, "I honestly do not care!

"WAIT!" Roberto called out, "What if I told you that you would be able to visit New York City?"

Gabriella froze, staying in her spot of the archway between the kitchen and the hallways, which eventually led to the living room and staircase. She closed her eyes before saying, "New York? Where you live? With your nutcase of a family and your new wife who could practically be my SISTER? No thanks, dad. No thanks."

"Just think about it, mija," Roberto said, looking down at his watch, "I'm afraid I have to go now. I'll send you flight tickets and you can talk about it with your mamá," He said, standing up and stretching his arms for a hug. Gabriella just turned around and stared at it blankly. Roberto sighed and put them down, "Goodbye mija," He said, before walking out of the kitchen and towards the doors.

She squinted her eyes, trying to keep the tears that were pinching the backs of her brown eyes from falling.

"Here…" Robby turned around and pulled a small brown box from his jacket pocket, which he had just slipped on. The box was tied with shiny pink ribbons and had the letter G written on it in blue marker. "I guess I won't be needing this anymore…" He threw the box on the ground, causing it to land right in front of her feet. "Call me if you change your mind…"

With that, Roberto walked out onto the porch, slamming the door behind him.

After she heard Robby's car pull out of the driveway, she slowly picked up the box, tearing away the brown paper and ribbons. Inside of the wrapping was a little card that said:

_Bienvenida a la familia_

(Welcome to the Family)

Underneath the card, there was a small framed picture of Gabriella and Roberto under a cherry tree in Gabriella's first house. She looked like she was about four. Roberto's hair was jet black-completely different from his hair now, which had flecks of silver sprayed over it.

She smiled, but the smile quickly faded when she realized that just four or five months after that picture had been taken, he had left them.

Gabriella wanted to throw the picture against the wall- cracking the glass or ripping the precious memory -but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She wanted to remember the picture- hold it carefully and place it on their coffee table- but, she couldn't do the latter either. So she stood there. She just stood.

------

**McKTAY_89: **4 realz?

**GaBIbaBe:** yup. Should I accept deh offer?

**McKTAY_89:** if u dunt I willz!

**GaBIbaBe**: but Tay, listen. He cant just prance back in 2 my life like he has always been here, cause he hasn't. he found a replacement fam. and ditched us here!

**McKTAY_89:** but hes tryin 2 fix it. He made a mistake gabz.

**McKTAY_89:** a BIG mistake

**McKTAY_89:** a HUGE mistake

**GaBIbaBe:** I get it, but…ugh! Idk!

**McKTAY_89:** my point iz…he iz tryin 2 be every1's dad. He has 2 commitments, but he wants u 2 b part of both.

**GaBIbaBe:** I g2g

**McKTAY_89:** this mite b a gud experience 4 u gabz. Just think about it, plz.

**GaBIbaBe:** bye.

GaBIbaBesigned off.

----

"Gabi…I think you should do this…" Maria was sitting at the table with Gabriella. They were picking out of a huge basket of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and pouring out of a pitcher of milk. Maria's curly hair was tied up in a messy bun on the top of her head, which matched her whole "Cookin" vibe. She was still wearing her frilly green CAN'T COOK apron over her thin yellow house dress. Maria's face looked naked with no makeup on and her bare toes wiggled freely.

"What do you mean?" Gabriella pulled up the sleeves of her white fluffy bathrobe and took a bite of her cookie that she had just dunked in milk.

"You should take that vacation with your Dad, mija…" Maria wiped a few stray crumbs off the battered wood table.

"Ma…I don't know if I can." Gabriella set her cookie down on her small plastic plate and looked up, staring into her mother's deep amber eyes.

"I know. I didn't think you would say yes. But, just listen for a second…" Maria bit into another cookie, causing crumbs to cascade down into her lap. "Your father is trying so hard, mija. He came all the way here- away from his family and kid-"

Gabriella stopped her. "We're his family…"

"To see you." Maria finished as if nothing had happened.

Light flooded through the sunlight above the table, causing the room to warm up. Gabriella smiled. She loved this house. It was - aside from her first home - her favorite house that she had ever lived in. It had a perfect sized kitchen, a comfy living room, a small dining nook, a huge metal-spiral staircase, a cozy bedroom for her, and a large master bedroom for her mom, along with two bathrooms. The best part about her room was that the door was on the ceiling (it was originally the attic). She had to climb up the staircase and, when she reached the top, pull a string for the door to swing open.

The inside of her room was covered with fuzzy blue shag rugs and huge seat-pillows with deep purple fake velvet cases that Taylor had helped Gabriella make. Each pillow had sequins, rhinestones, or glitter strewn across it. Her room had a large window on one side that flooded light into the room in the late afternoons. She had a small television that hung from her ceiling, along with beads that hung over her door. Gabriella's bed was large, covered with green comforters and a huge patchwork quilt that Maria and Maria's mom Julia had made together when they were younger. Gabriella's ceiling was painted like the sky. It was turquoise and covered with tiny glow-in-the-dark stars. Highlighter yellow lockers were to one side of the bed. There was a tall skinny one that contained her DVD player, her PS2 silver, her Stereo-iPod speaker, and her CD collection. The short wide locker contained her jewelry boxes and miscellaneous belts and charms. Across from those was a small computer desk, on top of which stood a pristine MacBook Air To the left of her bed, directly under the window, there was a large flower box filled with bright green plastic grass and fake flowers. Each one of those flowers was given to her by Troy. There were twenty-one for each time they watched the stars together. Finallt, on the mantle above her bed was "Wildcat", her penguin that Troy had given her.

Gabriella knew that she wouldn't be able to experience the joys of her house if she stayed with her father for vacation. Gabriella sighed, her mind sinking back into reality.

"Gabriella…he loves you. If he slips away again…you might never see him. Mija. I hate him just as much as you do…but I know he wants to be with you and make up for all his lost time. Just think it over and let me know…I love you, sweetie."

"I love you too, Mom…"

Maria stood up and kissed Gabriella on the forehead before quickly sweeping the plates from the table and dumping them into the trashcan. She then picked up the basket and stuck it into the fridge.

Gabriella studied every movement and every step her mom took. Would Tiffany be able to do that? Walk like that? Cook like that? Clean plates like that? The most trivial tasks suddenly looked as if they took a rocket scientist. I don't want Tiffany-Claire…I want my mom…

-----------

**Bball_T-star**: gabi?

**GaBIbaBe:** um

**GaBIbaBe:** hey?

**Bball_T-star:** wats wrong?

**GaBIbaBe:** nuttin

**Bball_T-star:** tell me. U promised 2 call me 2 day and u never did. thats usually not like u. u can tell me, i promise.

**GaBIbaBe:** uh-I got grounded…

**GaBIbaBe:** g2g bye

GaBIbaBe signed off.

Gabriella hated lying to Troy, but what could she do? She would tell him about the proposition after she made up her mind. Right now, she was just too overwhelmed to care.

_If you got it all figured out  
Then what is there to shout about  
This southwest town is gonna miss you  
Just go ahead and work it out  
But first come on and let it out  
Scream it, shout, tell everybody how you're gonna leave. _


	4. Head On Collision

**Head On Collision**

Gabriella held the heavy white house phone to her ear, hearing it ring.

Voicemail.

She hung up.

Gabriella tried again.

"Hello?" A man's voice blared from the other end.

She quickly pressed the END button.

_I can't do this…_ Gabriella thought, wiping her sweaty palm on the back of her brown leggings.

She took a deep breath and pulled out her pro's and con's list.

_Reasons to go to NYC:_

_Snow : )_

_Visit Dad (????)_

_Get Mom, Troy, and Taylor souvenirs_

_See the sights!_

_Reasons NOT to go to NYC:_

_Will miss Troy : (_

_Intruding on his new family_

_Will miss Troy!!!!_

_Will miss Troy!!!!_

_Uber Cold_

She decided to scratch out the last two "Will miss Troy's", telling herself that he'd be fine.

"Hello?" The man's voice rang out again.

"Hi…Roberto? I-It's Gabriella…"

"Ah, Gabi! Mija, how are you doing?" Gabriella could hear a girl screaming on the other line.

"Um, good…thanks. Uh, listen. Um, I…uh...talked to Mamá. And…she, uh, said it would be a good idea if I came to New York. You know, to visit and all. So, uh…yeah."

"Hold on a sec," Roberto said, as Gabriella heard him calm down the little girl, calling her princess, "Yes, Gabriella. I am so happy that you want to come to New York!"

"Uh, yeah. I guess so…" Gabriella said, awkwardly, staring straight towards the door to her room, seeing her penguin that reminded her of Troy; she always looked at it when she was nervous, for she believed that the memory of him helped calm her nerves.

"This is great! I have your tickets! They would be for next week. You can get off school, right mija?"

"I guess I could with a note. But not for too long…"

"Of course, your academics always come first, _dear_! The flight is on Wednesday. And you'll be back in time on Monday!"

"Alright, uh…thanks…dad."

"You're welcome mija," He said; Gabriella could hear someone screaming on the other line, this time, the voice sounded much older. Soon after that she heard a woman scream, "_You know how I feel about separate languages in this house_!"

"I'm sorry, but I must go now. Thank you once again mija! Muchas gracias! You won't regret it! Take care, Gabriella!" He said, before hanging up.

Gabriella sighed, listening to the dial tone. She hung up the phone, and went towards her comfortable bed, staring up towards her ceiling, "The stars," She said to no one, but herself, "I won't see them in New York."

-----

Getting tired of lying around, Gabriella went towards her desk and opened up her laptop, logging on AIM. She saw she had some offline messages

_**Bball_T-star:** [Offline IM sent 3 hours ago] Wats goin on G?_

_**Bball_T-star:** [Offline IM sent 3 hours ago] Y r u ignoring my calls?_

_**Bball_T-star:** [Offline IM sent 3 hours ago]: is something rong? r u mad at me? wat did I do_

_**Bball_T-star:** [Offline IM sent 3 hours ago]: r u hurt? plz plz tell me. im worried._

Gabriella sighed; she knew she couldn't keep it a secret from Troy that she would be going to see her dad. After all, he would notice she wasn't in school on Wednesday. She knew not telling him would only make matters worse.

Suddenly, another IM from Troy popped up.

_**Bball_T-star:** Gabi?_

Gabriella wondered if she should answer or just ignore him. She sighed, and just looked around to see her friend's statuses for the meantime. She saw Taylor's and Chad's away messages and laughed to herself.

_**McKTAY_89:** hangin with chad at his housee. gonna watch a movie. call the cell if ya need me._

_**BballAfroHottie:** Hot-Tay's in my room. ; ) don't disturb us bitchezz, we be busyyy._

Gabriella chuckled knowing that if Taylor ever saw that, Chad Danforth would be a dead man. The IM screen with Troy's IM popped out again. Gabriella sighed and read it.

_**Bball_T-star:** Ur ignoring me, aren't u?_

Gabriella sighed and decided it would be best if she just replied to this one.

_**GaBIbaBe:** No, I'm just busy._

Gabriella could tell Troy was raising an eyebrow right now; she could predict what he was going to say now. She looked at her screen and her suspicions were confirmed.

_**Bball_T-star:** Doin WHAT?_

_**GaBIbaBe:** Stuff_

_**Bball_T-star:** okay…what kind of stuff?!_

_**GaBIbaBe:** Just stuff, ok!?!_

_**Bball_T-star:** fine_

Gabriella could tell she had hurt him with her answer. But right now, she didn't need this. She sighed and went back to looking over at her buddy list. She saw Kelsi online and decided it would be good to confide in her and tell her about everything.

_GaBIbaBe: hey kelsi_

_**ComposerKels_22:** hey gabs! whats up_

_**GaBIbaBe:** nm. my dad came back on fri. he invited me to NY._

_**ComposerKels_22:** oh wow_

_**GaBIbaBe:** yeah_

_**ComposerKels_22:** gabs, troy IMed me. he's rlly worried. u should talk to him_

_**GaBIbaBe:** idk. Im not sure I want to talk to him rite now._

_**ComposerKels_22:** omg im srry. he imed me b4 nd asked if I was talking 2 u nd I said yea._

_**GaBIbaBe:** its ok, don't worry. i'll handle it._

Suddenly, as if on cue, another IM screen popped out with Troy's IM. Gabriella sighed, knowing she was confusing him beyond belief right now.

_**Bball_T-star:** Gabi wats goin on. srsly, r u mad?_

_**GaBIbaBe:** no_

_**Bball_T-star:** then y r u acting that way_

_**GaBIbaBe:** I'M NOT ACTING LYK NE THING!!!!_

_**Bball_T-star:** ok calm down. geez im srry_

Gabriella sighed; she hadn't meant for the caps lock to slip, but it did. Suddenly, she saw Troy's status message changed. It had now said:

to whom it may concern: im sorry for whatever i did. ily

Gabriella smiled thinking of how sweet Troy could be at times. He would put that up as his status message everytime the two had a fight. She desperately wanted to IM him right then and there and reply, 'ily 2' to him, but she knew it was impossible.

Sighing, she went towards her buddy list and blocked Troy. She needed some time to think right now; she would unblock him later. She then received an invitation for buddy chat, but she quickly declined it. Several minutes later, an IM from Zeke popped out.

_**Baking_roxx_mi_soxx:** Yo, yo, yo, sup Gabriella-ella-ella-eh-eh-eh!_

_**GaBIbaBe:** hi zeke_

_**Baking_roxx_mi_soxx:** yo wats goin on wid u nd captain?_

_**GaBIbaBe:** nuttin_

_**Baking_roxx_mi_soxx:** liar_

_**GaBIbaBe:** shut up_

_**Baking_roxx_mi_soxx:** Sweet, innocent Gabriella lies? oh my creme brulee!_

_**GaBIbaBe:** zeke, leave me alone_

_**Baking_roxx_mi_soxx:** oh, uh, ok._

Gabriella closed her eyes as she exited the IM screen, knowing she shouldn't have blown him off like that. Zeke was a nice guy and he was just joking around as usual. Deciding she had enough for today, she made up an away message, and got up from her seat by the computer, grabbed her book Pride and Prejudice, and went towards her balcony to sit outside, enjoy the fresh air, and read her book.

---

Gabriella sighed, walking inside her house. She called out to her mom, hoping she would be home. Gabriella was determined to spend as much time as possible with her mom, in fear of missing her or not remembering her when she went to New York. She knew it was ridiculous since she'd only be gone for a week. She had no idea why she kept it from Troy; he would understand, wouldn't he?

Her mind went on to wonder about Troy. She hadn't spoken to him all day. He had attempted in homeroom, but thankfully, the bell rang before he could. Then he tried again after homeroom was over, but Gabriella was fast enough to get out of the classroom and go on to her regular AP classes. Then in fourth period they both had Choir, so it was almost impossible to avoid him. Nevertheless, she did by sitting with Taylor in the front far away from her usual seat with Troy in the back. She knew he was watching her in puzzlement, but she made sure to avoid him.

She went towards the kitchen drawers and pulled out a bag of chips for her to have as a snack. She sat on her chair at the table, opened the bag of potato chips and ate them. She felt guilty as she remembered how she and Troy had decided to take choir together just so they could have a class together and hence why it was one of Troy's favorite classes. After Choir, they'd usually walk to lunch together, and that was the only time they would see each other until P.E. period.

After having her snack, Gabriella trudged up her room. She sighed as she slipped out of her pink corduroy blazer and put her book bag on her bed, looking around and seeing her suitcase already packed for everything she would need. She padded over to the suitcase and opened it, tearing the clothes out of their neat, color coordinated stacks.

Gabriella looked down at the mess she had made and slowly began refolding the different clothes; American Eagle shirts, Hollister tank tops, PINK sweats, Old Navy blazers, polo shirts, Delia's jeans, cords, silky pajamas, and a few designer handbags. She stopped folding and began to lay down in the mound of items she had put together.

Ugh…She thought as she threw the remaining clothes haphazardly into her suitcase, zipping it closed.

She sat down at her desk and took out her pen and continued with her Pro and Con list. Even though she had already agreed to go, she still felt like she was making a wrong decision.

**_Reasons to Go to New York_**

_Always wanted to see the city of light!_

_I get to explore NY_

_Taylor is practically making me go; it's almost like her dream to go_

_Broadway Shows! In The Heights! West Side Story!_

_Snow in NY! Celebs! Those cool hotdog stands! It might be exciting…_

_Reasons to NOT Go to New York_

_Will miss Troy : (_

_Dad…enough said_

_Will miss Troy : (_

_Libby Belle._

_And I already screwed enough up with Troy_

_Stupid blonde Tiffany-Claire the homewrecker._

_And if I go I'll screw it up even more_

_And Troy won't talk to me_

_And that'll be the happy ending!_

_WILL MISS TROY!!! : ( : (_

It was pretty clear that the Con list overshadowed the Pro list, but by now, there wasn't much that she could do. Gabriella sighed, and decided to log onto her myspace and saw a couple of photo comments and regular comments. She clicked on the photo comments first and, much to her dismay, it was some more cheerleaders commenting on how hot Troy was in a picture she had of the two of them sitting on top of an apple tree in the park.

She clicked on the comments and saw a couple from Taylor, some more worried comments from Troy, and one from Chad saying, 'Taylor told me.'

Crap, Gabriella thought to herself, Now that Chad knows, Troy's bound to know, too.

Gabriella saw that Chad was online and immediately responded to it, 'Does T know?' A minute later she received a new comment from Chad. He said, 'No worries. Just J and Z. It's safe.'

Gabriella sighed, logged off, and shut off her laptop. She took out her homework and began to do all the work she was going to miss. Some of her teachers gave her extra stuff to do in advance so that she wasn't too lost when she came back.

The fact: Gabriella Montez was going to New York City with her estranged father to visit his replacement family.

The fiction: Troy would be fine with it.

Gabriella could only think of one word: Screwed.

_I've never seen this side of you  
Another tragic case of feeling  
Bruised and broken  
From our head on collision  
I've never seen this side of you  
Another tragic case_

_Then you were gone  
You were gone  
All this time you just didn't know it yet  
You were gone_


	5. Nothing Left To Lose

**Nothing Left to Lose**

"You need to get out of the house," Gabriella's mom said while cramming their new purple-and-green plates into the dishwasher.

"Mom!" Gabriella called bounding in from the living room. "If this is about that bra fitting again…I already told you, I'm not going."

"No, mija. I was thinking we could go shopping for some clothes for your trip. You'll be needing a heavy coat, seeing as there is snowing in New York."

Gabriella sighed as she sat down in one of the stiff barstools that sat next to the kitchen island. She flipped her flat-ironed brown hair to one side, curling the ends with her fingertips. Just then, Taylor called.

"Ayo, Gabs! It's Tay…"

"I have caller-ID, dumb ass. What's up?"

"Do you want to come to the movies with us today? Like, around 6? Chad is getting a little frisky and I kinda don't want to be alone with him in a dark, soundproof, room."

"Us meaning…"

"Me, Chad, Zeke, Jason, Kelsi, Ryan, and Troy…"

Gabriella could barely speak. There was a lump in her throat the size of a baseball.

"T-Troy?" She stammered, her voice raspier then it had been before.

"I know that ya'll aren't seeing eye-to-eye, but if you'd just tell him, Gabs, I'm sure he'll understand…"

"I'll go." Gabriella choked before giving a quick "Later" and clamping her cell phone shut.

Gabriella slid the slim phone into the back of her wristlet-clutch.

"Mom…" She swiveled the stool back around to face her. "Lets go shopping."

--------

Half an hour later, Gabriella and Maria were in the outskirts of Albuquerque; the Albuquerque suburbs. Maria had dragged Gabriella into a North Face store (who knew there was one in New Mexico?!) and made her try on at least twenty different coats. Long coats, cinched coats, knee-length coats, waist coasts, pea coats-they were all there. By the time they left the store-carrying only two coats, Gabriella was sweating bullets.

Next, Maria dragged her along into an IKEA and several other stores. After hours of shopping the two finally arrived home at 6:30. Gabriella lied down on her leather couch, absolutely exhausted. Who knew that shopping could be so tiresome? Maybe Sharpay Evans actually had a point when she said that shopping is her sport…

Suddenly, she felt her phone vibrate and heard a familiar ringtone play.

_Four years you think for sure  
That's all you've got to endure  
All the total dicks  
All the Stuck-up Chicks  
So superficial, so immature!_

Pulling it out she saw that Taylor had sent her a text message, _Girl, where r u? the movie is about 2 start in lyk ten mins._

"Oh my gosh!" Gabriella shrieked, realizing she completely forgot about the movie tonight. She ran into the kitchen and quickly asked her mother if she could go to the movies with her friends. She agreed, but reminded her to be back before ten. Grabbing her cell phone, she trudged up to her room, grabbed her Gucci purse, and put on her outfit - a fitting dark gray Bitten tee, a short frayed jean skirt with green and gray striped patches for pockets, and her favorite white and black checkered Keds. She then slipped on her silver Prada watch that she'd received as a birthday present the year prior, fluffed up the back of her ultra-straight do, and swiped on a quick coat of strawberry lip shimmer.

In a few minutes, she was out the door and began texting Taylor, _Heading there now. need a ride._

She sighed as she glanced at her watch; the movie was supposed to start right now, but thankfully, commercials took up about fifteen minutes.

_kk. jase said he'd get u. b sure to b at starbucks. that's where he'll pick u up_.

Gabriella sighed thankfully, for she didn't have to walk. She replied.

_k. thx._

----------------

After Jason and Gabriella arrived at the movie theatre it had already been twenty minutes, but the theatre was having technical difficulties and so they re-played commercials at the time. The gang had left the theatre to get some more popcorn, since Chad had already dissolved most of it. Zeke had remained inside the theatre, watching over the seats, and partly because they showed a commercial for a new movie coming out entitled, "Cookin' With Master P.'

"Yo, G. I heard about the news," Jason said, once they walked into the movie theatre.

Gabriella gulped, "Yeah. Chad told me. Um, you aren't going to tell Troy, right?"

Jason looked at her in a funny way, "Why wouldn't you want to tell Troy?"

"Tell Troy what?" A familiar voice called out. Gabriella turned around and saw Troy standing their confused, and sort of hurt. She gulped as she realized that the whole gang, minus Zeke, was standing in line to get some food.

"That…she…forgot all about the movie!" Taylor piped in, appearing alongside Troy with Chad next to her, munching on his chili-cheese fries. Gabriella glanced at her best friend and shot her a grateful look. Taylor just smiled satisfied, knowing her best friend owed her at this moment. Taylor continued, "Yeah, she completely forgot about the movie because she, uh, had stuff to do. So, yeah. She didn't want to upset anyone about that. But she's here now! Let's go see the movie!"

Taylor quickly reached out to grab Chad's hand, but it was currently filled with chili, so she just grabbed his sleeve and pulled him into the theatre. Kelsi smiled sympathetically at Gabriella and handed her the ticket, indicating they already bought it for her before she came. She smiled in return and glanced over to see Ryan carrying a whole tray full of food for the gang.

"Here, let me help you with that," Gabriella said as she went over to Ryan and took the four large sodas out of his hands, leaving Ryan holding the popcorn for everyone and some fries and pretzels.

Ryan shot Gabriella a grateful smile, "Thank you so much, Gabriella. You're an angel. I thought I was going to drop all of this for a second…"

Gabriella laughed, "No problem, Ry," The two have grown to be very close friends over senior year after the whole Lava Spring incident with Sharpay. Sharpay also become…less mean, and Ryan was no longer her little puppy.

Troy, who had peeked out of the theatre, had noticed their little conversation. He frowned as he saw that she was much friendlier with Ryan than she was with him at the moment. Troy thought about it for a second and then shook it off. She loved him, right? Once she took her seat, he would make sure he was sitting right next to her and he would make her talk to him about everything that was going on, and things between them would be fine again. After all, the golden couple almost never had serious fights for more than a few days.

After a few minutes, the gang was seated and comfortable inside the now dark theatre as the movie began to roll.

"Psst. Gabi," Troy said to her, not paying attention to the start of the movie; after all, it was quite boring in the beginning as they showed the actor/actresses' names.

"Y-yes?" Gabriella asked meekly, afraid someone told him about the secret. Troy frowned, noticing something was wrong.

"What's going on? Why have you been ignoring me this week?" He asked, looking her straight into the eye, secretly afraid that he did something to push her away.

Gabriella sighed, and whispered back, "I don't know, Troy. It's just…with my father. I guess I sorta spaced out. I'm not used to him suddenly popping into my life and acting as if everything has been just peachy for the last few years.

Troy nodded understandingly, giving her a comforting smile, "Is that all? Are you sure it's not something I did?"

_I hate lying to him about this, but I feel like I have to… _Gabriella thought as she gave him a weak smile, "Yeah, that's it."

"So," Troy smiled, "We're cool right?"

Gabriella interlaced her fingers with his and smiled, "Absolutely."

Troy smiled and wrapped his arm around her, letting her nuzzle her head into his neck. He turned back to the movie, seeing the scene in the movie where the characters were sitting in their backyard, watching the stars.

Gabriella felt Troy's hand clasp hers and his lips kissing her cheek.

"Troy…" she whispered playfully. "Watch the movie…"

"Aw…" Troy winked before catching his lips with hers briefly, "Don't they remind you of us?" Troy said, glancing back at the screen, "Young…free…in love…"

Gabriella nodded slowly, sort of guilty as Troy continued. "Except…you're not going anywhere," Troy smiled, "You're going to be here in my arms instead of out in California…"

Gabriella sighed, knowing that was somewhat of a lie; once Troy found out she would be visiting her dad she was pretty much screwed. She just shrugged it off and smiled; after all, she would only be in New York for a couple of days.

Troy focused at the scene of the couple that reminded himself so much of him and Gabriella. He smiled as he heard the lyrics that fit in with the movie so perfectly.

_Something's in the air tonight  
The sky's alive with a burning light  
You can mark my words something's about to break  
_


	6. Stay Close, Don't Go

Stay Close, Don't Go

About an hour into the movie, Gabriella felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. She pulled it out and lowered her head; she didn't want the other movie patrons to get angry at her for not turning off her cell. Looking at the caller ID she almost choked on her own saliva. The name read Roberto M. Daddy was calling.

"Hello?" She whispered, pressing her cheekbone into the crevice of the phone.

"Hola, mija." Robby replied.

"Um…I'm kinda busy. Can I call you back?" She whispered into the phone. Gabriella tried to lower the volume on her cell, but somehow pressed SPEAKER.

"Sorry, mija. This will only take a second. I just wanted to tell you that I sent you the tickets for your NY vacation to visit me. I can't wait! I'll see you on Wednesday, mija. Adiós!"

Gabriella snapped the phone shut. Why was the volume louder? She turned and looked at Troy. His eyes were cold and staring. His jaw was locked.

"Troy…I…"

"Save it! I can't believe you didn't tell me this! What? Am I not important enough to tell this to? This is what everyone knew and didn't tell me? You're going to New York with your dad…on Wednesday…?" Troy looked at her; this wouldn't hurt as much if Troy had not planned something special for them that Wednesday night, yet, Gabriella did not know that. He added bitterly, "Don't expect me to come to the airport to send you off!" He stood up, knocking over the large carton of popcorn that had been sitting on his lap.

"Troy…please don't make a scene."

"I'm leaving!"

"I'll go with you! We can talk about this…"

"Correction. I'm leaving alone."

Troy stumbled over the feet of Kelsi, Jason, Zeke, Taylor, and Chad as he ran out of the dark theatre.

-----

That night, Troy stayed up all night, playing around with a few strings on his guitar. It was one of Troy's deepest, darkest secrets…that inside his very messy basketball-themed room (with the exception of pictures of him and Gabriella and his scrapbook of her hung in the center) there would be a guitar lying off to the side. His grandpa had taught him a few chords last summer and from then on he had secretly played some tunes.

No one knew that Troy Bolton played the guitar. Well, with the exception of two people.

His mother.

And Gabriella.

Troy Bolton had been planning on surprising Gabriella with this song he had written for her. He began :

It's undeniable how brilliant you are  
In an unreliable world you shine like a star  
It's unforgettable now that we've come this far  
It's unmistakable that you're undeniable  


Troy dropped the guitar on the floor and grabbed his pillow, muttering, "Who am I kidding? She's gonna have to wait to hear it."

He sighed, looking across the room towards the penguin. He knew he shouldn't be as upset as he is, considering it's not going to be like she'll be gone forever. She'll be back for school next Monday, and things will be back to normal. So why did Troy Bolton have a really, really bad feeling about this?

He hummed to a song he had heard at the movie that night. Now he knew why Gabriella seemed to act oddly when the movie played. She knew she was going to be going somewhere, and she didn't even bother to tell him.

If you leave me tonight, I'll wake up alone,  
Don't tell me I will make it on my own,  
Don't leave me tonight,  
This heart of stone will sing 'till it dies  
If you leave me tonight. 

Suddenly it hit him. Troy bounced up from his bed, and grabbed his coat. He knew what he had to do.

---

Gabriella sighed, lying down on her bed. She sniffed knowing she brought this all upon herself. If she had only told him she'd be gone for a few days…Troy would understand, right? She glanced towards the spot where she had her Troy-penguin. She gasped when she saw it was missing. Springing up from her bed, she frantically ran to the side of her room where she placed the penguin. There was nothing there. Troy penguin had been kidnapped.

Suddenly, she felt a knock from her balcony window. Turning around she saw Troy standing on her balcony, holding the Troy penguin having wrapping around it. Gabriella quickly ran over to open her balcony door and once she did, Troy immediately cupped her face and brought her into one of the most passionate kisses. When he pulled away he gave her the Troy Penguin.

"Oh, there it is! I thought it was missing!"

"No worrries," Troy smiled, "I just wanted to give this to you all wrapped before you went to New York tomorrow," Troy sighed. "I'm sorry about the way I overreacted at the theatre today. I know, I know, it was uncalled for, and I guess I was just…hurt. I didn't know that…you would be going with your dad and, I guess, that knowing that I was the last person to find out about it sorta hurt."

"Troy, I'm so, so—"

"Sorry?" Troy chuckled, "Me too. Here, as long as we have our penguins, everything is good, right?"

Gabriella just smiled and nodded as she hugged the penguin towards her chest.

"And I also inserted a note inside the wrapped penguin. So, when you get to New York you can open it up and read it," Troy said, "But not anytime earlier!"

Gabriella giggled, "Alright, Troy. I will. And Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Troy smiled as he wrapped his arms around her again and brought her into a tight hug, "I love you, too."


	7. Take Off

**Take Off**

Three days had passed since the movies incident. Ever since then, Gabriella and Troy had been spending every free moment with each other. Movie marathons every other night, parties with Taylor, Chad, and Jason, and –Gabriella's favorite- making out under Troy's shady weeping willow.

But now…Gabriella couldn't bear to kiss Troy. Standing in the airport terminal, her school bag over one shoulder, her tiny Troy-penguin under the other arm, she knew that kissing Troy would be too much. Gabriella couldn't bear it.

"Bye, mija! Diviértase en Nueva York!" Maria blurted, her eyes welling up.

"Bye Mom, I'll be sure to have fun!" I say it-but do I mean it? "And Troy…" I love you too much to leave. "Promise that in the four days I'm gone, you won't find some hotter chick to start counting stars with?"

He gave a raspy, strained laugh.

You laugh, but I'm telling the truth. I can't lose you…

Gabriella laughed before jumping into his arms and hugging him tightly.

He kissed her ear softly and whispered, "I promise…"

Please mean it…

A Brooklyn accented woman's voice boomed through the speakers. "ALL FOR FLIGHT 1227 TO NEW YORK, NEW YORK! STARTING WITH FIRST CLASS!"

"That's me…" Gabriella said as she released from Troy's everlasting hug, the places where he touched her still tingling up her forearm. She was actually glad that her Da- Roberto…worked in such a high class job. Sitting in coach could sometimes be nauseating.

"Bye Gabriella…" Troy said as she waved goodbye, tears streaming down her face.

If she's only going to be gone for four days… Troy thought, turning around as she walked through the air tunnel, then why do I feel like she's leaving for a lifetime?

Little did Troy know that "leaving for a lifetime" was pretty close to the truth…

---------------

Gabriella slid into the new-looking black Lexus. The seats were soft leather and the windows were tinted. It must have been the finest in luxury cars.

"Fasten yor seatbelts, madame. We hawve a long ride ahead of us." The taxi driver waved his hand in a "Buckle up" motion.

Gabriella couldn't believe Roberto had hired a taxi. Couldn't he have picked me up himself? Maybe he just doesn't care…

Strike one.

As Gabriella curled up against the frosty glass of the back seat window, the driver tried to make small talk.

"So…Mr. Montez said yor in from New Mexico. Tha' must have been a bloddy long trip. Huh?"

"Yeah…"

" 'E also said tha' yor only gonna be 'er fo' a couple'r days."

"Yup…"

"An' 'e said tha' yor-"

"Um…I'm kind of tired. Would you mind raising the partion?" She pretended to yawn, and then pressed her fingertips against the cold window.

"No problem, Miss Montez…" The man pressed a button on the dashboard and then a large sliding partion rose from the floor, blocking out all noise from the drivers' seat.

No sooner had Gabriella began to shut her eyes, did a stud followed by paparazzi cross one of the busy intersections of Manhattan.

Was that…

She heard one of the photogs shout "ORANDO! MR. BLOOM! GIVE US A PICTURE!"

"OH MY GAWSH!" She shrieked, slamming her hand on the "Open sunroof" button. Once she got it open, she quickly stuck her head out into the cold January air screaming, "ORLANDO! I LOVE YOUUUUUUU! SIGN MY FOREHEAD! SIGN MY SHIRT!"

Gabriella phone was vibrating in her back pocket.

"H-hello? Troy? Wait one sec…" Then she stuck her head back out, screaming, "ORLANDO! I LOVE YOU! SIGN MY FOREHEAD! GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR MOVIE! I LOVE YOUUUUUUU!"

"You love who?" Troy's voice sounded playful, yet somehow defensive.

"Orlando Bloom, Troy. He's gone anyway…" Gabriella regained composure and sat back down, closing the sunroof that was supposed to shield her form the dusty snow falling from the heavens.

"Oh…well…are you at Roberto's yet?"

"No, I'm in the car. It's snowing here."

"Oh…"

"So…how's New Mexico?"

"Warm…"

"Don't make me jealous."

"Don't make me laugh."

They both burst into a fit of hysterics.

"Hey…we stopped. I think I have to get out. I'll call you in the morning! Bye Troy!"

"Bye Gabriella…" He managed to let out before she slammed the phone closed, throwing it into her Northface backpack.

"We're 'ere madame…" The driver's voice called as he unlocked the doors. "'Ave fun with yor fawtha!"

Gabriella stepped out, grabbed her bags, and watched as the car sped off, leaving her standing in front of the Waldorf-Astoria.

"Whoa…"


	8. Manhattan

**Meet The "Family"**

Gabriella rode the elevator up to the top floor of the building. Her father had said the elevator opened up directly into his apartment.

She hadn't really thought about the fact that she would have to live with his new family for these four days, and was unsure she could bear it. _Too late…_she thought as the elevator gave a _DING_ signaling it had reached the top floor.

The first thing Gabriella saw when she stepped off was cleavage-_a lot_ of cleavage.

Tiffany-Claire had run up to her and given her the tightest hug you could imagine, her low-cut top not doing a good job of keeping Gabriella's face out of her plastic-surguried body.

"Let me look at you…" Tiffany finally pulled away, giving Gabriella a once over. During these moments, Gabriella did the same for Tiffany.

Tiffany-Claire was wearing a super tight, super revealing gold halter top that left almost _nothing_ to the imagination. Her skirt was a tiny white one with gold sequins and beads. Gabriella swore she saw a butt cheek poking out from the bottom, along with a tiny red thong. She wore white L.A.M.B. stiletto heels and her hair was tied up into a sultry ponytail, letting long golden extensions drape over her shoulders. Tiffany had, as in the cell phone picture, tons of silver rings along her fingers, two gold rings, and a long pearl necklace that got lost somewhere in her implanted cleavage.

Gabriella had been wearing her purple velvet, straight legged Seven's, a loose fitting white polo shirt, a striped headband, and her hair in a high ponytail.

_Ew…how did Roberto make this girl into such a fashion don't? Doesn't she know that…like…Seven's are totally out of style. UGH! _Tiffany thought to herself.

"You look gorgeous!"

"Same to you!" Gabriella replied, cringing.

"Your Dad went out to run a few errands. He'll be back soon though. Why don't you go upstairs and get settled. Third door on the left. Bathroom is down here, second door off the dining room."

Gabriella began walking toward the stairs, taking in her surroundings.

There were at least five large white sheepskin rugs lying across the cherry-wood floors. The couch was long, white, and leather, covered in terracotta colored throw pillows and ocean colored blankets. There were tall glass vase holding long orange glass tubes next to each door. The dining room was futuristic-glass table, glass chairs with white sheepskin seat covers, a small Robo-vac circling the furniture, a small cherry-wood bowl of shiny blue seashells-the works. No kitchen. There were several heavy wood-and-glass doors around the house, each adorned with a small gold-plated sign above; BATHROOM, DINING HALL, STUDY, etc. There were two large sets of wood stairs, each one covered in white sheepskin. Next to each door upstairs, there were tall glass boxes filled with blue-and-orange Navajo blankets, white pillows, and fluffy blue towels.

"Who are _you_?" An obnoxious and girlish voice was heard from the back of Gabriella. Gabriella swiftly turned around and looked down to see a mini-Tiffany. There standing was a little girl—couldn't be older than eight; she was wearing dark skinny-Abercrombie jeans that looked _way _too big on her as if she just pulled it out of her mom's closet and a halter shirt. She had blonde, loose curls (it was the only thing different from her mother, who had straight hair) and Gabriella immediately knew where those curls came from…her father, for she had them, too.

Gabriella tried to smile at the little girl and bent down to talk to her, (she tried to overcome the fact that she was wearing expensive designer high heels that made her about half a foot taller) "Hi! You must be Libby Belle!"

The girl nodded as in a 'duh' tone, "And you must be Frankenstein!" She giggled in an annoying high-pitched girlish voice, as she put her shades over her eyes. Gabriella noticed she had the exact same chocolate-brown eyes that she had (again, from her father) and she was undoubting, her little sister; well, her little _obnoxious _half-sister.

"Please! No autographs!" Libby Belle held her hand and shoved it in Gabriella's face as she continued to strut off on her heels; Gabriella couldn't help, but grimace at her diva-like attitude, but chuckled when she say Libby Belle almost trip in her heels.

"So this is what it's like in New York…" Gabriella said to herself, looking around the apartment; it was most definitely large and spacious. Heck, it probably was larger than Gabriella's current house in Albuquerque and _that _was two stories.

"_Hun, _would you like to see your room? Roberto picked it out special for you!" Tiffany-Claire smiled, rubbing her thin stomach. Gabriella looked down and for the first time she wondered if Tiffany-Claire could possibly be pregnant. She couldn't be, after all, her dad would mention something about it, right?

"Uh…" Gabriella shook the pregnancy thoughts out of her head. "S-sure…"

Tiffany strutted down the hallway, letting her heels clack on the part of the hallway that wasn't covered in animal skin.

"Roberto likes white…" She pointed around at the lack of color; White walls, white rugs, white vases.

"MmmmHmmm…" Gabriella mumbled as Tiffany-Claire came to a halt.

"Here's your room!" She exclaimed mock-excitedly. The sign above it read GUEST BEDROOM NUMBER 3.

As Gabriella walked into the room, she couldn't believe her eyes. It looked like one of those uber-expensive hotel suites that she had only seen in magazines! The cherry-wood floors were polished to perfection and ended where the tall white walls took its place. There was a King sized, double-mattress four poster bed. Next to the bed were two wood nightstands, one holding a short clap-on-clap-off lamp and the other holding a miniature version of the tall glass boxes outside, this one holding a stack of magazines including _Martha, Seventeen, Cosmo Girl, Popstar, People, and Quiz Fest_. Hanging on the wall above the table was a sleek silver phone and dock attached to it was a laminated copy of the emergency and room service numbers, along with a restaurant menu. There was a 72 inch plasma TV hooked on the wall facing the bed. About seven feet away from the bed as a small relaxing area, stocked with fluffy blue-and-orange mahogany chairs, glass coffee tables, a real Starbucks latte-coffee-frappuccino maker, a small chest filled with nail polish, and an AMC movie theatre popcorn maker/candy dispenser. There was also a large glass desk with a Mac Book Air and a white Mac sitting on top of it. Across from the relaxation area, there were three large wooden doors. Behind one was the HUGE bathroom, behind another was her walk in closet, and behind the third was a small kitchen area.

"Wow…" escaped Gabriella's gaping mouth.

"If you want to make a latte, popcorn, dispense candy, turn on the bathtub or shower, run the stove, use the microwave, or call 911, you use this." Tiffany-Claire picked up a small silver remote with blue rhinestone keys. Each button was labeled.

"I think I'm going to like it here…"

"I hope so!" Tiffany-Claire turned towards the door, rolling her eyes. _I hope Roberto chucks out some more cash for this kid…of course, I'm not going to spend it _ALL on little miss Albuquerque. I mean, Tiffany needs her shopping spree!

"Meet me downstairs in two hours, darling! We'll go shopping! By the time Robby comes home…we'll be ready to go! See ya, sweetie!"

If Tiffany was going to get stuck with her as a houseguest, she might as well fix her up to make her look more presentable.

Tiffany bounced out just like teenagers do.

How old is she again? Gabriella thought, laughing to herself before plunking down in front of the Starbucks creation maker.

"Hmmm…" She ran her hands over each flavor frappuccino; Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, Caramel Apple, Double Choco Chip. After pressing the one she wanted, a second list appeared on the screen under the first entitled FIX-IN AND SIZE; Tall, Medium, Grande; chocolate chips, whipped cream, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cookie crumbles.

After finding the appropriate size and fix-in, she pressed the COFFEE MAKER START/STOP button on the remote and watched as it expertly brewed her favorite strawberry with strawberries-and-whipped cream frappuccino.

After taking her delectable treat from its place on the table, she turned toward her bed, only to realize that Libby Belle, queen of the brats, was standing in front of her.

"I'll have a coffee…black please." Libby Belle said, clapping her hands.

"Um…I don't think you should be having coffee at your age, sweetie."

"I'm almost seven. Now…Get. Me. My. Coffee!"

"Get it yourself…" Gabriella mumbled under her breath.

"UGH! I'll just make some cotton candy from my new Princess Pony Cotton Candy maker in _my_ room." Libby Belle turned and stalked away, tripping over one of Gabriella's unopened bags.

_How does Roberto live with her?_

-------------------------

Four hours later, Tiffany-Claire and Gabriella were standing inside L.A.M.B. with a shopping-helper who was holding their bags from Gucci, Prada, Red Shoe, BCBG, Juicy Couture, Abercrombie & Fitch, H&M, American Eagle, Ralph Lauren, Hermes, Saks 5th Avenue, and Jimmy Choo.

"Aren't these just ah-dorable?!" Shrieked Tiffany-Claire as she ran to a large silver rack of shoes, some from the _Seventeen_ _Magazine_ Gabriella had just read.

Tiffany had been doing that a lot lately. She would hire someone to lug around their bags, and then find something she liked. After that she would hand Gabriella Roberto's Black Card (higher up than platinum, gold or silver and made out of real titanium) and tell her to go buy whatever she wanted.

Gabriella would wander around aimlessly, occasionally picking up a sparkly top, a pair of jeans, a nice purse, a designer shoe, and put it into her bag. By the time Gabriella was done shopping, Tiffany-Claire would rush up to her with six more bags, five for her and one for Gabriella.

_Why do I need so many clothes anyway?_ Thought Gabriella, a little embarrassed to be having a butler follow them into their hired car and around New York.

"Tiffany…can we stop? I'm a little worn out…" Gabriella touched the bottom of her foot, with throbbed with the intensity of one thousand suns.

"Sure, babe. Just…when we get home, change into something…new." Tiffany pointed at Gabriella's outfit; a short-sleeved brown corduroy blazer over a long sleeved pink Aero mini dress, a large brown leather belt, a pair of dark purple leggings, and knee-high brown cowboy boots.

"Um…ooooooookay…"


	9. No Stars

**Dinner**

Gabriella sighed as she entered her new room, and laid down onto her Queen-sized bed, completely exhausted. _Geez, shopping with Tiffany-Claire is so excruciating. _Although, Gabriella couldn't lie, the woman had a nice taste in clothing. Maybe she was just a little _too _into expensive designer clothing and material with sparkles and sequins, but that definition described Sharpay back in Albuquerque perfectly. _They would get along well… _Gabriella noted. She was very sure that Tiffany-Claire was only being nice to her because of Roberto, and secretly, hated her guts.

She glanced over her shoulder to spot her Mac, smiling as she bounced over toward it and opened it up. She sighed heavily, knowing this would probably be her only chance to get into contact with her friends. Scanning through her emails, she spotted an unread email from Taylor. Clicking on it, Gabriella fixated her eyes upon the email.

_Hey Gabs! Troy told me he was with you at the airport for your departure this morning! Tell me how it went, girl! How's NY? I just got home from our Decathlon Meetingl! (But with the time difference, I'm guessing its like…seven there or something) Anyway, I think today's meeting was one of the least productive meetings we've had all month. It felt so incomplete without you present. We need you SO badly right now. : ( Miss you lots. Email me back on all the delish stuff happening in NYC!_

_P.S. Troy was so completely bummed at school today without you. ; ) Just thought you should know._

_P.S.S. DID YOU REALLY MEET ORLANDO BLOOM!?!?!?!?!?!_

Gabriella laughed to herself; news around there sure spread fast. She quickly responded to her friend and told her all about her shopping spree, her father's home, Tiffany-Claire, Libby Belle, the coffee/frappuccino making machine, the Mac, the amazing room, and just…New York itself. Gabriella couldn't lie and say that she hated New York. She had fell in love with the city within a few hours. She _almost _felt guilty about forgetting all about Albuquerque

_I'm sure I'll remember it tonight when I go up to the roof and see no stars…_Gabriella thought to herself, before clicking on Google and downloading AIM 4.7 that was especially designed for a Macintosh. After signing onto her screen name, she quickly IMed Troy.

**GaBIbaBe: **hey

**Bball_T-star: **Hey! How's NY!?!? I miss you so much

**GaBIbaBe: **lol its awesome!!! I love it here!

Gabriella wondered if Troy was somewhat saddened by this, but realized that Troy probably would be happy that she's enjoying her stay in New York.

**Bball_T-star: **ahh. so i reckon u don't miss me? : ' (

**GaBIbaBe: **lol

Troy didn't respond after that. Gabriella knew that she should have at least added, 'I miss u 2' but at that moment she had so much to check, her mind already overflowing with things to do.

"Ella, dear!" Tiffany-Claire's nasally voice rang out from the hallway. Gabriella groaned, glancing down at the time on her watch, which was still in Albuquerque time. It read 5:55 P.M, meaning that it was 7:55 P.M. in New York. And that could only mean one thing, Roberto must have come home —to his newer and better family. Gabriella sighed, cringing at the new nickname as she quickly set up her away message.

"GABRIELLA!" She heard a man's voice call out. Gabriella sighedm knowing fully well that it was time to face the music.

Descending downstairs, attired in her new black sequin covered tank top, a red satin RL shrunken blazer, black ankle boots, and a silver H&M skirt, she gulped.

Gabriella peered down the hallway, her eyes falling on the same man that visited her home just a few weeks ago. Roberto stood in the living room, his mouth covered in red lipstick that was obviously from Tiffany's kisses, dressed in a formal black business suit.

Roberto's eyes widened as soon as he spotted Gabriella walking cautiously through the hallway. "_Mija!" _He exclaimed, dropping his vinyl briefcase on the floor before running towards her, embracing her in a tight hug.

"Ach hem…" Tiffany-Claire cleared her throat, her eyes narrowing as she watched the sickenly sweet father-daughter moment.

"I mean…_daughter_."

Gabriella blinked, confused. _Why isn't he allowed to speak his own native language? He chastised ME for _not _using it!_

Strike two.

"_Robby-kins_…dinner is, like, waiting…" Tiffany-Claire whined into his ear, tugging at his arm as she pulled him away from his daughter.

"Sorry, sugar…" Robby replied, not a hint of an accent penetrating his speech.

Gabriella, feeling like a complete stranger, followed the flirtatious Tiffany, the non-Spanish Roberto, and the bratty Libby Belle into the dining room. She took a seat next to Libby Belle on one of the uncomfortable glass chairs, trying to make the sheepskin form to her body.

"Your dinner is _served_…" A tall, suit-clad butler padded into the room with two large silver trays in each hand. He set the trays down on the reflective glass table and pulled off each lid. One tray contained eight perfect pieces of Filet Mignon garnished with mushrooms, onions, and red peppers. The second tray bore four bowls of French onion soup, and a large cheese grater on the side.

"What would you like for a refreshment, _madame?_" The butler politely asked Gabriella.

"Uh…can I have a Pepsi?"

"With or _without_ lemon?"

"With."

"With or _without_ ice?"

"Without."

"Merci. Your drinks will be here momentarily."

After the man disappeared, Gabriella shifted her body to face her father. "Do you get this service _everyday?_ I mean…_papi_…if you're doing this just for _me_, I'm terribly sorry. I don't want to be a burden…"

"Daughter, this is my life. We eat this way every breakfast, lunch, and dinner."

Gabriella shook her head, her eyes staring down at the dishes in disbelief. Did they really hire a French butler/caterer for their own apartment? Granted, the apartment was most likely bigger than her house, but did they really need all these... accessories?

Gabriella then realized that she had never had every whim attended to her before. The closest she had gotten to that kind of service was when Troy's mom invited her to Troy's close-cousin's wedding! They had a huge catering and waitressing service.

She watched as Libby Belle's grubby hand shot out to grab the tongs for the Filet Mignon.

"Sweetie…" Tiffany-Claire said in a all-too-sugary-sweet tone, "You're on a _diet_ remember? I'll just tell Elfred to bring you a nice chicken salad."

Gabriella shuddered at the sound of the Butler's name. It was way too close to Belfred, Sharpay's butler's name.

_Kids on a diet? _She thought. _I mean…LB isn't even CLOSE to chubby, unless you count that little bit of baby weight. Tiffany-Claire freaks me out…_

-----------------

That night, Gabriella sat in her bed, staring up at her blank ceiling. _I miss my stars…_She thought as she took one of her overstuffed goose-down pillows and threw it up into the air. It hit the ceiling before crashing back down.

"Stars…" She blurted out to the empty room.

Gabriella stood up and padded over to her large bay window slowly. Looking out, she saw nothing but navy blue sky and a plane passing by.

_No stars…_

No stars.


	10. East High Goes On

**East High Goes On**

Troy opened his locker, throwing a few books inside and accidentally stabbing himself with his pens. Looking up, he saw the small picture of Gabriella and him kissing under his big tree in the backyard. It was framed in a green picture frame with fake grass and little rhinestone flowers and blue envelopes that Gabriella had made for him.

Closing his locker, he saw Sharpay's awaiting eyes staring at him eagerly.

"Sharpay?"

"Hey, Troy!" She said, pushing out her chest. She was wearing a size-too-small black wrap shirt that pushed up her cleavage along with a pair of ultra-tight, ultra-low rise skinny jeans and a pair of strappy white heels.

"So…" He mumbled, hoping the bell would ring.

"So…I hear you're unattached…" She winked.

"And you heard that from…who now?"

"A _very_ reliable source."

"Well, obviously not, seeing as that is untrue."

"Seriously?!"

"Uh…yeah, Sharpay. Look, the bell's about to ring and I need to get going."

"You're going to physics, right?"

"Uh…"

"I'll save you a seat, sugar plum." Sharpay winked seductively, luring him in to get him to stare down at her cleavage.

"Sure…" Troy mumbled off-handedly before pivoting in the opposite direction.

Skipping one class wasn't so bad. Right?

-------

Back in New York, Gabriella was stuck at home with Tiffany-Claire and Roberto, who had taken time off from his work to spend time getting to know Gabriella. They sat by the kitchen table, chit-chatting about miscellaneous subjects while Gabriella drank some soda and Tiffany-Claire gulped down her diet health drink.

"So," Tiffany-Claire said in her best fake-happy and high-pitched voice, "How are you liking New York so far?"

Gabriella shrugged and simply smiled, "It's pretty good," She admitted, failing to mention the one missing element in New York - stars. She couldn't go outside to a _backyard _and stare out at the sky, mainly because Roberto's new family did not own (it was probably the one thing that they _didn't _have) a backyard. The entire building's ground was used as an over-polluted parking lot.

Tiffany-Claire rolled her eyes in disbelief, finding it hard to believe that her new husband's daughter could find Albuquerque better than New York. "Well, it _has _to be better than where you currently live... AKA the _middle of nowhere_," She snapped icily.

Gabriella, taken aback, blinked, furrowing her brows at the realization that Tiffany-Claire's tone changed from sugar-sweet to malicious. Quickly glancing at her father, she wondered if he was thinking the same thing. Roberto shifted uncomfortably in his cushioned seat, torn between two sides. In the end, he chose to back up his new wife instead as he quipped, "I never understood why Maria chose Albuquerque to live…"

"Well, I love it there," Gabriella retorted, feeling somewhat patriotic of the town she had grown to love.

"And for your information, _mom _didn't choose to live there, _Roberto. _It was her company that chose to relocate her there. And I'm actually quite glad they did because it is an amazing place to be in."

"Do you guys, like, sing farm music there?" Tiffany-Claire asked curiously, taking a long sip of her diet-drink, Gabriella stared at the dumb blonde, who was without a doubt oblivious to other parts of the world.

"No," Gabriella spoke sharply, "It's not a _farm; _it's a _town_."

Tiffany-Claire responded with an eye-roll before opening her mouth to reply, "Same diff. Do they have malls? We have one by the Palisades! We took Libby Belle there and she had a _blast _at the Carousel. And then we had a _totally rad_ time at Abercrombie! They have two stores there! Abercrombie & Fitch is where I shop and then there's little abercrombie for cute little kids like Libby Belle! Oh, you haven't seen it yet. Well, you must. You certainly won't find anything like _that _in Albuturkey."

"_Albuquerque_," Gabriella corrected, fed up with Tiffany-Claire's attitude. "There _are _some malls. Maybe not quite as elaborate as the ones in New York, but still… It's not as bad as you make it seem. We still have all the stores that you shop at… and it's not like we milk cows for a living!"

Tiffany-Claire scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You live in _New Mexico_. That's country and middle-of-nowhere enough," She said in a low-voice, yet both Gabriella and Roberto heard her remark. Before Gabriella could explode and tell off Tiffany-Claire, the door popped open. Libby Belle strutted in the room, carrying her LeSportSac schoolbag over her shoulder.

"I'M HOME!" Her obnoxious screech echoed in the spacious apartment.

Gabriella winced, feeling as if her eardrums were about to burst from listening to the dying cat, otherwise known as her new half-sister who was an annoying pain in the butt.

"SOMEONE GET MY BAG! IT'S EFFING KILLING ME!" Gabriella's eyes opened wide in alarm at the kind of language a six-year-old was capable of using. She wasn't sure if she was going crazy or if Libby Belle actually screamed that out because neither Tiffany-Claire nor Roberto commented on it.

Libby Belle stomped into the kitchen just as Roberto rushed over to her, grabbing her bag before kissing her on the forehead, "Hello, angel! How was your day at school?"

Libby Belle scrunched up her nose with distaste. "It was _horrible!_ These kids in my class are so stupid! We've been doing the Pythagorean Theorem for AGES and they still don't get it!"

Gabriella raised an eyebrow curiously; since when did first graders learn the Pythagorean Theorem?

"Honey!" Tiffany-Claire came towards her daughter, adjusting and rolling her daughter's skirt, "How many times have I told you to roll this skirt? You go into that bathroom and you roll it up and shake it!"

Gabriella's mouth dropped wide open, appalled at the advice the woman was giving her six-year old daughter. Her eyes scanned Libby Belle's plaid uniform, noting that Libby Belle most likely attended a prestigious elementary school here in the Upper East Side.

Libby Belle rolled her eyes in annoyance before heading into the bathroom. Gabriella's eyes shot up at Tiffany-Claire in disbelief. Noticing the stare, Tiffany-Claire fake-smiled, explaining on her behalf, "Precious Libby Belle is ahead in her class. She's in fifth grade, you know? She's one of the youngest, but my precious is also the most popular girl in school!" Tiffany-Claire bragged, proud that her daughter was 'popular' rather than four grades above her level.

Gabriella nodded in understanding, impressed. Honestly, the idea that Libby Belle might have possibly inherited the genius trait that ran in the family had not come across her mind... To Gabriella, she was just a snobby little brat, but maybe there was more to her…

"MOTHER! WHERE IS MY GOD DAMN LIP GLOSS COLLECTION!?"

…or not.

Tiffany-Claire rolled her eyes before continuing to speak. "She's such a pain in the ass. Although, it's a good thing to be bitchy! Then, people feel threatened by you and you can manipulate everyone around you to get what you want. I told that to her teacher, who said she was _disturbed_ by the qualities she observed in Libby Belle, but the old hag just looked at me like I was insane," Tiffany-Claire explained before walking inside the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. "Libby Belle, you better have that skirt up all the way when I get there!"

Shaking her head, Gabriella stared at Robert, demanding an explanation.

Roberto smiled sheepishly. "Isn't Libby Belle such a sweetheart? The teachers complain about her bullying the older kids… And I'm just thinking, a _six-year-old _beating up a _ten-year-old_? Please! It's ridiculous! Her teacher says she's tired of Libby Belle acting up in class, but if the school just _challenged _Libby Belle enough-"

"Isn't it bad for her to be around the older kids?" Gabriella mumbled. "She should be interacting with kids of her age!"

Roberto scoffed, "Libby Belle has never interacted with kids her age. She matured a lot quicker than her peers, and she was in a third grade classroom when she should have been in Pre-K. She sometimes hangs out with the girls from a nearby middle school. I see them walking around sometimes, hanging out after-school at Starbucks."

_A six-year old roaming around the streets of Manhattan alone with the exception of pre-teens? Really, Roberto?_ Gabriella thought to herself, wishing she could vocalize her thoughts. Instead, she asked. "How does Libby Belle feel about that?"

Roberto eyed her oddly. "Gabriella, what are you trying to say? We didn't push Libby Belle into this! Tiffany, my sweet, was horrified when she learned Libby Belle was awfully smart for her age. It wasn't in _her _genes! But once I found out about it, I had her tested in one of the most advanced schools. I'm sure you know that the curriculum in New York is a lot better than most states. And this special school teaches advanced topics to younger children that are capable of grasping the concept. But even _that_ isn't challenging Libby Belle enough. And she's been awfully fussy about that."

Gabriella nodded her head dumbly. She knew _that _feeling. Hearing about Libby Belle's struggles to fit in with her abnormally large IQ reminded Gabriella of another little girl who once faced the same challenge - _herself_.

"Now, would you do me a favor and take Libby Belle to her girl's scout meeting? She has an appointment with her tutor at five and it's _very_ important, so don't you dare have her be late!" Roberto ordered her, "Now, be a _dear_ and get ready. I'll call you when Libby Belle needs to be dropped off. It'll be a _perfect_ chance for you two to bond!"

Gabriella sighed in agreement, knowing she didn't have the choice to decline. Glancing down at her watch, she saw that everyone in Albuquerque was most likely still in school. She hated the time difference. Troy had basketball until after five-thirty, meaning that Gabriella would have to wait until seven-thirty to call, but that would not work out since the _family dinner_ was at 7:30 P.M. One of the things that Gabriella learned in her short time in New York was that _no one_ couldmiss dinnertime, no matter the circumstance. Dinnertime was _always _a huge family event that would go on until around eight-thirty when dessert was served.

Gabriella noticed that Libby Belle had a hungry appetite, but Tiffany-Claire happened to be strict about calorie consumption. She actually sort of felt _sorry _for Libby Belle for getting stuck with a mother like that. That is, she felt sorry when (and this was rare) Libby Belle wasn't acting like a spoiled brat.

But as of now, she was going to have to take Libby Belle out for her after-school duties, and make her best attempt at not getting lost in Manhattan by herself.

_Oh, the joy._

--

Libby Belle plopped down into the right window seat in the hired car and began primping with a compact makeup-mirror.

She was wearing a super short brown and pink plaid skirt along with a brown shirt that read, "Eat some cookies! Call the Thankful Thinmints Girl Scout Troop." She also wore a pink sash with a ton of small silver pins on it, pins that said, "Marshmallow Roasting Pin-Amanda", "Selling Pin-Regina", or "Fire starting Pin-Maxine."

"Hey, those names aren't yours…" Gabriella pointed out.

"I stole them from the dumbasses in my troop. It's not like they were going to use them. I just need three more damn pins and I win the $500 gift card to Urban Outfitters!"

"And… the makeup?" Gabriella looked down at her own outfit (picked out by Tiffany) of a tight navy mini dress, silvery leggings, and Pastries sneakers.

"I _always_ wear makeup," Libby Belle informed her. "Got an em-effing problem with it, beyotch?"

Gabriella reeled back. "My mom never let me talk like _that…_"

"Well, this is New York, sweetie. You gotta learn your place. Go fuck with someone else's god damn life and stay out of mine."

Speechless, Gabriella tilted her head to stare out of the window, watching as the buildings seemed to get larger the further into the city that they went.

Soon, the driver pushed on the pedal, resulting in the car stopping abruptly. "Here you are, Miss Libby Belle."

Gabriella thanked him kindly, while Libby Belle spat, "Took you long enough! Next time, I am _so_ going to slit the tires on your fricken car. Got it?" She pushed the man out of the way and walked into the tall building, flipping the driver the finger as she did.

Gabriella watched as LB almost tripped on a crack in the sidewalk on her designer Coach heels.

When the two entered inside the building, up the elevator, and into the girl scout's room, Gabriella stood dumbfounded.

There was a glittering chandelier in the center of the room, under which was a flat screen TV, three white couches, and a mahogany coffee table. The room's walls were completely made up of windows. Around the room, there was a maid wiping down the small dining table, a tall woman in glasses marking children's names off a checklist, and a chef baking cookies.

"Hola, Libbly Belle!" A small girl scrambled over to her.

"IT'S LIBBY BELLE, YOU IDIOT! AND I CAN'T UNDERSTAND CHINESE!"

"Is no Chinese…is Spanish…"

"Whatever it is, don't talk to me in that language. It pisses me off!" Libby Belle snarled, smacking the girl across the forehead. Letting out a sob, the girl quickly ran off, tears stinging her eyes.

Gabriella reached out to grabs Libby Belle's hands, "Libby Belle, how _could _you? You made that poor little girl cry! YOU CAN'T HIT OTHERS LIKE THAT!"

Libby Belle struggled to break free from her half-sister's grasp. "GET OFF ME! YOU'RE NOT MY EFFING MOTHER! I TOLD YOU TO STAY. OUT. OF. MY. LIFE!"

Frustrated beyond belief, Gabriella finally let go. With a grunt, Libby Belle ran off, turning on a nearby corner.

Strike effing three.

-----------------

Troy shifted his weight from one foot to the other, trying to balance out his weight while dribbling down the court.

"Troy! I'm open!" Chad yelled, running towards him.

It had been a crappy practice. Chad fell twice, Jason sprained his ankle, and Zeke had a family emergency. All the best players were worn out, including Troy.

"Time out!" Troy wheezed as he ran toward the bleachers for a drink.

"TROY! C'mon man! We have an hour left of practice!"

"Coach…_dad_…can we pick this up tomorrow? Everyone is tired." Troy sighed for effect.

"No shit everyone's tired! That's because you guys are off today! Is there something going on?"

_Yes. Sharpay is hitting on me and Gabriella is across the country with her estranged father. But besides that, everything is FINE!_

"No, Coach…" Troy moaned and walked back to the foul shot line. "Nothing at all…"


End file.
